When you are purchasing a new garage door for your home, it is essential you know the type of garage door track you will need for installation. Be keen when getting your garage door measurements because a simple mistake can delay your project. You should consult your dealer to help you select the right garage door tracks that fit the garage door style of your home.
Here are the garage door tracks options:
- Standard radius track.
The standard radius track is the most commonly used in homes. It has a radius of 15 inches and needs headroom of 15 inches to accommodate the track curve and its other equipment. There are other standard radius options of 20 and 32 inches. They require a larger headroom to accommodate the radius. Installing a track with a less radius is ideal as it takes less headroom space. However, using a 12 inches radius will need the operation motor to work more to move door units through the small curve. You need to select hardware to balance and control the garage door motor to operate the door efficiently.
- Low headroom track.
A low headroom track is a commonly used door track with less than a 12-inch radius and uses less headroom. It has a second horizontal track. The second track is installed above the horizontal unit and connected to the vertical track unit curve. The second track moves the door’s top unit helping the operator to work smoothly. The Low headroom track helps the garage doors that have tall and oversize top sections.
- Hi-lift door track.
When your home garage ceiling is tall than usual, a hi-lift door track is the best to use on your garage door. The hi-lift door track uses a standard radius and more vertical track than the horizontal track to open the garage door. When the door is open, less of it stays in a horizontal position larger part of the door rests on the vertical side. They mostly combine the features of the standard radius lift and vertical lift.
- Vertical lift track.
A vertical lift track is a garage door track most used in commercial or industrial garages. If you have a commercial garage, you need a vertical lift track to move the door up from the wall to give the door opener space. A horizontal lift track is not available. Suppose your garage door height is 8 ft. It would help if you had 8 inches or 9 inches vertical headroom.
- Roof pitch track.
This track trails the roof structure terrain. If you know your garage roof pitch, you should cut a standard angle radius to allow the horizontal track to follow the roof’s structure.
Bottom line.
If you need a new garage door for your home, you need a new garage door track. You should not install a new door without a new garage door track. You should ensure you replace the tracks when they become loose, produce a squealing sound, and when they bend out of their arrangements. You should hire professionals to replace the track system for the safety of your vehicles.